For a moment Monday night, the Vikings thought they tied their wild-card game against the Rams with a strip-sack of Matthew Stafford that resulted in a touchdown.
But replay review determined that Stafford actually threw the ball legally at the last second as he was being dragged to the ground. Stafford somehow avoided an intentional grounding penalty on the play.
The play took place with the Rams holding a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Vikings got pressure on a first-and-10 blitz, and Stafford dropped the ball as Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard took him to the turf.
Linebacker Blake Cashman picked it up and sprinted untouched to the end zone for what was ruled on the field as a touchdown. Stafford immediately protested that the loose ball was the result of an incomplete pass and not a fumble.
Officials took a second look on replay and agreed. They overturned the call on the field and ruled it an incomplete pass. Here’s the play that officials determined was a legal forward pass:
Here’s the full play with an explanation from referee John Hussey.
“After review, the quarterback did, in fact, throw the ball forward,” Hussey said. “No. 17 was in the area. Therefore it is an incomplete pass.”
No. 17 is Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, who was never the legitimate target of a pass on the play.
Why is this allowed?
This shouldn’t be a thing in football. The Vikings had Stafford wrapped for a sack, and he exploited a loophole in the rules that defies common sense and determines that this was a legal pass directed toward Nacua.
Nacua was certainly nearby. But in no reasonable world is that a legitimate pass. Nacua never had a chance at catching the ball that Stafford released downward just inches from the ground.
This is no fault of Stafford’s. He used the rules to his advantage. But football rules that allow this to happen need to be changed.
